Citizens & Southern National Bank, Moreland Avenue

The Moreland Avenue branch of Citizens & Southern National Bank (C&S) was the last of a series of projects designed by architect Kenneth Johnson that were commissioned by Mills Lane Jr. These projects included remodeling of a bank at Little Five Points (now known as the Star Bar), a cabin for a corporate retreat, and a branch bank on Roswell Road. This building's remarkable design is a response to its site immediately to the west of Moreland Avenue and adjacent to a shopping center at 25 feet below street level. It is conceived as a curving set of six levels of spaces spiraling up around a central open court connecting the two levels of the site. The building's inward focus emphasizes views of the plantings and fountain of the central court, avoiding the visual cacophony of Moreland Avenue. The August 1969 issue of Interior Design magazine describes the design as "making the work spaces come alive with movement and creating a kind of 'sculpture in motion.'" Johnson partnered with Atlanta-based interior designer William Trapnell on many projects, including the C&S commissions. An application for a demolition permit was filed with the city in late 2010. At the same time, a grassroots effort to raise awareness of the building and seek an alternative to demolition was growing. Despite these efforts the building was demolished in August 2011.